Chris O'Dowd
Chris O'Dowd | |
|---|---|
 O'Dowd at the British Comedy Awards, December 2013 | |
| Born | Christopher O'Dowd 9 October 1979 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, film director |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | |
Christopher "Chris" O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979)[1][2] is an Irish actor and comedian best known for his role as Roy Trenneman in the Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd. He has appeared in several films, including Gulliver's Travels, Bridesmaids and This Is 40. O'Dowd created and is currently starring in the Sky One television series Moone Boy, had a recurring role on the drama series Girls and starred in the television series Family Tree.
Early life
O'Dowd was born and raised in Boyle, County Roscommon. His father, Seán, is a graphic designer, and his mother, Denise, is a counsellor and psychotherapist.[3][4][5]
He represented Roscommon in Gaelic football at under-16, minor and under-21 level, the highlight being his performance as a goalkeeper in the 1997 Connacht Minor final against Mayo. This was highlighted by his guest appearance on the Sunday Game. [6]
He studied politics and sociology at University College, Dublin, and subsequently attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. O'Dowd did not obtain a degree from UCD, telling the UCD student newspaper the College Tribune: "I didn't finish my degree. The politics part of it was fine, but I was doing sociology as well and I could never bring myself to find an interest in it."[7] He contributed to The University Observer and was active in UCD Dramsoc and the Literary and Historical Society.[7]
O'Dowd stands 6' 3 1/3" tall.
Career
O'Dowd has starred in the United Kingdom in Channel 4's comedy The IT Crowd, BBC 2's Roman's Empire, Red Cap and the award-winning documentary-drama The Year London Blew Up. He has also appeared on Irish television, having starred in the RTÉ One drama The Clinic and the drama Showbands alongside Kerry Katona. O'Dowd has appeared in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People in a minor role. O'Dowd has also had roles in a number of films, including the 2005 film Festival where he played stand-up comedian Tommy O'Dwyer, a role for which he won a Scottish BAFTA award, and a small role in Vera Drake. O'Dowd appears in Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, a comedy sci-fiction film with Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly and Anna Faris. He played Liam in the 2007 German film Hotel Very Welcome.
He starred in the 2009 film The Boat That Rocked, released in Canada and the U.S. as Pirate Radio. The film was inspired by the story of offshore pirate broadcasters Radio Caroline. O'Dowd plays Simon, the station's breakfast DJ."The breakfast jock on Radio Caroline at the time was Tony Blackburn, so there's definitely an element of him in it,"[8] says O'Dowd of his character. "And then I called in different Irish DJs that would have been contemporaries of Tony Blackburn at the time, a guy called Larry Gogan and a couple of other people."[8]
O'Dowd starred opposite Sienna Miller in the film Hippie Hippie Shake, which is about the groundbreaking '60s magazine, Oz. The publication was the precursor to a whole generation of lad mags. O'Dowd plays Felix Dennis, who would later become the publisher of Maxim. The story centres on the landmark indecency trial. In preparation for the role, O'Dowd met with Dennis, stating "He was an incredibly charismatic man."[8]
In April 2009 it was announced that O'Dowd had been cast in a remake of Gulliver's Travels as General Edward. "It's shooting in Pinewood from the end of April", he said, shortly after his participation was announced. "I'm just going back to England to learn how to ride a horse... I'm a general in the army, so there's going to be a little bit of horse riding. I think it's going to be really fun though, we're all kind of learning together."[8]
O'Dowd appeared in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks, an American version of the French farce, Le Dîner de Cons.[9] He also appeared on panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Season 21, episode 11), and starred in an ITV2 comedy series entitled FM. In 2010, he took part in Little Crackers, writing and directing a short film loosely based on his own childhood and Christmas in his family home from 1984 to 1988. In April 2011, he starred in the BBC adaptation of The Crimson Petal and the White as William Rackham and appeared in the May 2011 release Bridesmaids as Officer Nathan Rhodes.
O'Dowd had a small role in This Is 40,[10][11][12] basing his character on people in Hoxton who "wear skinny jeans and hate the world, which comes from an inability to deal with women."[13] He described "fighting over Megan Fox in a pool" during filming as "one of the most fun things I've ever done".[14]
O'Dowd recently wrapped production on Wayne Blair's debut feature, Australian musical The Sapphires.[15] Based on a popular stage show, it was shot across Australia and Vietnam and produced by Goalpost Australia.[16][17] He is to write and executive produce a new American comedy series called Big Men,[18] after NBC won the bidding war for it.[19]
He co-wrote a series based on his childhood called Moone Boy for Sky One.[20] Segments of the series, currently airing on Sky 1, were filmed in his hometown, Boyle.
O'Dowd began starring in April 2014 in the Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men, directed by Anna D. Shapiro and co-starring James Franco and Leighton Meester.[21] For this, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Personal life
O'Dowd married Dawn O'Porter in 2012. An atheist, he has turned anti-religious as he aged.[22]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Red Cap | Bernie Maddox | Episode: "Crush" |
| 2003–2005 | The Clinic | Brendan Davenport | 18 episodes Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in Television (2005) |
| 2005 | The Year London Blew Up: 1974 | Dowd | TV Movie |
| 2006 | Showbands II | Mervin Mooney | TV Movie Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in Television (2007) |
| 2006 | The Amazing Mrs Pritchard | Headmaster | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Doc Martin | Jonathan Crozier | Episode: "On the Edge" |
| 2006–2010, 2013 | The IT Crowd | Roy Trenneman | 25 episodes |
| 2007 | Roman's Empire | Jase | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | FM | Lindsay | 6 episodes |
| 2010 | Little Crackers | Himself / Santa Claus | Episode: "Chris O'Dowd's Little Cracker: Capturing Santa" |
| 2011 | The Crimson Petal and the White | William Rackham | TV Miniseries Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in Television (2012) |
| 2011–2012 | Family Guy | Butler / Contestant / Guard (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Girls | Thomas John | 5 episodes |
| 2012–present | Moone Boy | Sean Murphy | Creator, writer and executive producer International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series (2013) IFTA Award for Best Entertainment Programme (2013–2014) Nominated—Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Multichannel Programme (2013) Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Script Drama Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in Television (2013) Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in Television (2014) |
| 2013–2014 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Dr. Cockroach (voice) | 26 episodes |
| 2013 | Family Tree | Tom Chadwick | 7 episodes |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Of Mice and Men | Lennie Small | Longacre Theatre Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
References
- ^ "Chris O'Dowd". TV.com. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ "Chris O'Dowd biography and filmography". Tribute. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ Laura Barton (16 June 2011). "Chris O'Dowd: From cult IT geek to Hollywood antihero". Evening Standard.
- ^ Stuart Husband (20 June 2011). "Chris O'Dowd Interview". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ "Boyle: Boyle actor in television debut". The Sligo Champion. 8 January 2003.
- ^ "Farm - Farming - Roscommon's IT guy". Farmersjournal.ie. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ a b editor (4 April 2012). "Standing out from the Crowd". College Tribune. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d Nicole Powers (9 May 2009). "Chris O'Dowd: The IT Man From The IT Crowd". SuicideGirls.com. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ "Chris O'Dowd Interview". Sky TV.
- ^ "Chris O'Dowd for Knocked Up sequel". RTÉ Ten. 8 June 2011.
- ^ "'IT Crowd' star to join 'Knocked Up' spin-off". NME. 8 June 2011.
- ^ "O'Dowd joins Knocked Up spin-off". The Belfast Telegraph. 8 June 2011.
- ^ Gordon Smart (19 October 2011). "Chris O'Dowd is a little too honest". The Sun.
- ^ Gordon Smart (22 September 2011). "Chris O'Dowd's pool frolics with Megan Fox: IT Crowd geek's scene with sexy star". The Sun.
- ^ "Chris O'Dowd Joins Aussie Musical 'The Sapphires'". IFTN. 16 August 2011.
- ^ "On location and finally acting the part". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 2011.
- ^ "O'Dowd heads to Vietnam for new movie". RTÉ Ten. 16 August 2011.
- ^ "O'Dowd set for US comedy series". RTÉ Ten. 27 October 2011.
- ^ Daniel Frankel (26 October 2011). "NBC Wins Bidding War for Chris O'Dowd Comedy 'Big Men'". Reuters.
- ^ Caroline Crawford (26 November 2011). "O'Dowd hunts twins for his new TV series". Evening Herald.
- ^ Of Mice and Men, playbill.com; accessed 25 April 2014.
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/actor-chris-odowd-says-religion-is-unacceptable-20140308-34ded.html atheist.
External links
- Chris O'Dowd at IMDb
- Chris O'Dowd on Twitter
- 1979 births
- Living people
- Alumni of University College Dublin
- Gaelic football goalkeepers
- Irish male film actors
- Irish male comedians
- Irish male television actors
- Irish atheists
- People from Boyle, County Roscommon
- People from Sligo (town)
- Roscommon inter-county Gaelic footballers
- 21st-century Irish male actors
- Critics of religions